Broadlands

History and Architecture

One of the finest examples of mid-Georgian architecture in England, Broadlands stands serenely in a unique place in British history. Its distinguished owners and many of its important visitors have helped to shape the course of history.

It is a house with many royal and historic associations. Visitors cannot help but marvel at its beauty, its superb interiors, its art treasures, and its glorious setting on the banks of the River Test.

Romsey Abbey had owned the original manor and the area known as Broadlands since before the Norman Conquest and on its surrender to Henry VIII after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Broadlands was leased by John Foster, steward of the Abbey. Edward VI granted it to his uncle Admiral Sir Thomas Seymour who sold it to Sir Francis Fleming in 1547. His daughter married Edward St. Barbe, and for 117 years the property remained in the St. Barbe family. Sir John St. Barbe made many improvements before leaving it to his cousin Humphrey Sydenham in 1723. Sydenham, ruined by the South Sea Bubble, then sold Broadlands to Henry Temple the I st Viscount Palmerston in 1736. It was he who began the deformalisation of the gardens between the river and the house, and produced the 'gentle descent to the river'.

The major architectural 'transformation' which made Broadlands the elegant Palladian mansion we see today began in 1767.

At the request of the 2nd Viscount Palmerston, the famous 18th century architect and landscape designer Lancelot 'Capability' Brown came here and seized upon the 'capabilities' of the earlier Tudor and Jacobean manor house. During the period from 1767 to 1780, he completed William Kent's earlier 'deformalising work', planned and supervised further landscaping, planting, dearing and riverside work, and proceeded to create what must surely be one of his greatest masterpieces.

Broadlands' own archives show us that his was the principal influence in planning the project to 'square' the house, in new classic Palladian style. It was to be encased in white brick to give the appearance of stone, and to have two noble porticos. But equally brilliant designers were also involved, notably Brown's protege and son- in-law, Henry Holland the younger, who added the east front portico and Domed Hall in 1788. Most of the decorative plasterwork in the main rooms was designed and executed by Joseph Rose the elder (1723-1780), described by a contemporary as "the first man in the Kingdom as a plasterer".